White squirrels

[Deleted member 46449]

Sounds like one day your City might be used as a case study on how not to handle feral cats, I mean will be used as a case study

You got that right. It's so absurd, it's kind of comical. These are elected officials who are SUPPOSED to be looking out for the city and it's residents. I just fail to see how anything this ludicrous can actually be proposed in an open council meeting. The sad thing is that there will be a horde of cat lovers who will praise the action. And once again, don't anybody misunderstand me. I don't really want to have to euthanize thousands of cats. The problem is that we are at a point where that is the ONLY reasonable alternative.

Right now I have a contractor in the house doing some work. He owns several rent houses in town and just bought 9 more. He has told me that they have had to trap as many as 50 to 75 cats at a couple of his houses because the houses have been sitting empty and became a place where the cats got out of the weather. He told me of another fellow that also has rent houses in town that had to trap over 100 cats at one location where he bought three house in a row. It's simply out of control and these dingbats think that a catch and release program will solve the problem.

I also just found out the "logic" behind this program. These mental midgets think that by spaying and neutering all the cats they catch, the cat population will eventually just dwindle to nothing and be gone because all the cats will just grow old and die. Hey, I can't make this crap up. That's the reasoning behind the whole catch and release program. The one council member that DOES have a little sense is the gal I've been communicating with. She hit the nail on the head when she said, "That idiotic logic assumes that they will actually catch, spay/neuter every cat roaming free. It also assumes that not one resident of this city will allow their cats to roam free after the catch and release is complete." It's Orwellian politics at it's finest.

 

[badger5th]

The one council member that DOES have a little sense is the gal I've been communicating with. She hit the nail on the head when she said, "That idiotic logic assumes that they will actually catch, spay/neuter every cat roaming free. It also assumes that not one resident of this city will allow their cats to roam free after the catch and release is complete." It's Orwellian politics at it's finest.

If enough cats are spayed/neutered the population will go down over time. I personally think many of the people who let their cats free roam actually will welcome this policy since their cats will get free vet treatment then the cats will be released right back to where they were bagged.

 

[Deleted member 46449]

If enough cats are spayed/neutered the population will go down over time. I personally think many of the people who let their cats free roam actually will welcome this policy since their cats will get free vet treatment then the cats will be released right back to where they were bagged.

That happens to be one of the really sore spots for the councilwoman I talk to. She said the exact same thing. She is worried that when news gets out about exactly how the program works, people will intentionally send their cats out to be trapped, even if they don't normally do that, just to get free vet care.

In an ideal and perfect world, the cat population would go down over time. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an ideal and perfect world. Realistically, they will never get 100% of the feral cats caught, neutered, and released so, the population will never really decrease becuase those they don't catch will be producing litter after litter of new, feral cats. Not only that, the irresponsible cat owners that get more/new cats will continue to allow them to roam and there will continue to be those that get a cat, then decide they don't want the hassle and expense of taking care of it so they simply turn the cat(s) out to roam freely.

That kind of brings up another city ordinance that is NOT enforced. Cats and dogs in this town are supposed to be licensed. The requirement for obtaining a license says the animal must have received all necessary shots and evidence of that must be provided to get the license tag. I have yet to find a single person with a cat or dog that has done that. So, I again have to question why an ordinance exists that is totally and completely ignored by residents and city officials.

 

[pdxFrank]

So, I again have to question why an ordinance exists that is totally and completely ignored by residents and city officials.

Maybe because the man-power for squirrel patrol is busy solving real crimes.

 

[Deleted member 46449]

Maybe because the man-power for squirrel patrol is busy solving real crimes.

The ordinance I was referring to was actually the pet license requirement, not squirrel patrol.

But, as far as real crimes, I don't think you're getting just how rural and small we are. For instance, in 2021 we had 38 violent crimes of which 35 or more were actually either bar fights or domestic battery complaints. Not much crime solving involved. We did have an actual murder, but not much crime solving was involved. The suspect was arrested within hours of the incident. He had fired his truck up and he drove it into an outside patio at a local bar. His truck never left the scene and the event was witnessed by a dozen or more people, some of whom knew the suspect. The sad thing is that he was trying to kill his wife, but she wasn't on the patio. The deceased was an innocent bystander who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.

Then we had around 150 thefts or criminal damage to property cases. Most of the thefts were committed by meth heads that were very easy to track down and arrest. Some of the property damage cases were complaints filed by owners of rental houses against the renter(s) they had to evict who then tore the house up when they moved out.

We're not exactly a hot bed of crime. I used to have a couple of scanners that I tried using to keep up with local law enforcement. I sold both scanners because there was just nothing coming across the air other than maybe a fight at a local bar or a drunk driver. I didn't see that as reason enough to have a scanner running all the time. LOL!

Correction: I was just talking to my wife. She said the murder by truck case was two years ago. So, last year we had zero murders. As best as the two of us can recall, in the six years we have lived in this town, there have been two murders and both of them were solved in a matter of either a few hours or in a few days. In both cases most of the town already knew who committed the crime. It was just a matter for local police to go through the routine of collecting evidence and providing the State's Attorney enough to convict the suspect. Not really any true crime solving involved.

This is what I have mentioned a few times about living in a small town. We don't have crime, at least not to speak of. So, we live in a very safe community where it's good to raise a family. The downside is that we don't have all the stores and businesses you guys that live in bigger cities have. We have to drive an hour or more to find good shopping. As for real specialty type stuff, we'd have to travel 2 to 3 hours to either St. Louis or Indianapolis, or order online.

 

[Deleted member 46449]

Here are a couple more shots of my backyard pet. I saw him out there right before I headed out for surgery. I thought I'd grab a couple of shots while I could still walk normally. LOL! You can see that this squirrel has dark eyes.

 

[JimD]

I am not a cat lover but I haven't shot one yet. My mom loves them but the pound in the city she lives in would not give her another because she said she would have it's front claws removed. She doesn't want them to tear up the furniture. It would also make them less effective hunters.

My little rescue hound desparately wants to chase cats when we are on walks. She pulls pretty hard on her leash considering she only weighs about 35 lbs. I hope she doesn't catch one in our backyard because I don't want to pay the vet bills. If she got persistent she would kill it but would probably need stitches.

Last, we look for white squirrels while on our weekend walk. There are at least several, possibly a lot more, within a quarter mile of my house. They also have dark, not red, eyes. As far as I know, the only things controlling their population are feral cats, an eagle that hangs around, at least one hawk, and owls. I am in the city but at the edge and there is still undeveloped property nearby.

 

[Deleted member 46449]

I am not a cat lover but I haven't shot one yet. My mom loves them but the pound in the city she lives in would not give her another because she said she would have it's front claws removed. She doesn't want them to tear up the furniture. It would also make them less effective hunters.

My little rescue hound desparately wants to chase cats when we are on walks. She pulls pretty hard on her leash considering she only weighs about 35 lbs. I hope she doesn't catch one in our backyard because I don't want to pay the vet bills. If she got persistent she would kill it but would probably need stitches.

Last, we look for white squirrels while on our weekend walk. There are at least several, possibly a lot more, within a quarter mile of my house. They also have dark, not red, eyes. As far as I know, the only things controlling their population are feral cats, an eagle that hangs around, at least one hawk, and owls. I am in the city but at the edge and there is still undeveloped property nearby.

Are you anywhere near Yemassee, or maybe Brevard, NC? From what I've read there is a well established colony in Brevard and a few reports near Yemassee.

 

[Simplemann]

Here are a couple more shots of my backyard pet. I saw him out there right before I headed out for surgery. I thought I'd grab a couple of shots while I could still walk normally. LOL! You can see that this squirrel has dark eyes.

They are special for sure, very unique little creatures. Thanks for sharing

 

[Deleted member 46449]

They are special for sure, very unique little creatures. Thanks for sharing

Yes, they are. It's kind of funny. Even though my wife and I see this little fellow regularly, we both loudly announce every time we see it. I was getting ready to go for some minor surgery yesterday and heard the wife say, "There's our white squirrel!" It's hard to NOT stop and stare when you see one. LOL!